Evolution of Flowers

While land plants have existed for about 425 million years, the first ones reproduced by a simple adaptation of their aquatic counterparts: spores. In the sea, plants—and some animals—can simply scatter out genetic clones of themselves to float away and grow elsewhere. This is how early plants reproduced. But plants soon evolved methods of protecting these copies to deal with drying out and other abuse which is even...

Symbolisms of Flowers

Many flowers have important symbolic meanings in Western culture. The practice of assigning meanings to flowers is known as floriography. Some of the more common examples include:Red roses are given as a symbol of love, beauty, and passion. Poppies are a symbol of consolation in time of death. In the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, red poppies are worn to commemorate soldiers who have died in times of war. Irises/Lily...

New Alligator Lopper Garden Tool

Tired of cutting small branches on your garden by a chainsaw or a branch looper? So here is your ease. Black & Decker has come up with a tool that fits comfortably between a chainsaw and a branch lopper, the Alligator Lopper LP1000. It can cut through branches and logs up to four inches thick and uses a patented scissor action to grab the offending piece of wood, clamps it tight and then powers through it with a...

Flowers Morphology

Flowering plants are heterosporangiate, producing two types of reproductive spores. The pollen (male spores) and ovules (female spores) are produced in different organs, but the typical flower is a bisporangiate strobilus in that it contains both organs. A flower is regarded as a modified stem with shortened internodes and bearing, at its nodes, structures that may be highly modified leaves. In essence, a flower structure...

Flowers Specialization & Pollination

Each flowers have a specific design which best encourages the transfer of its pollen. Cleistogamous flowers are self pollinated, after which, they may or may not open. Many Viola and some Salvia species are known to have these types of flowers. Entomophilous flowers attract and use insects, bats, birds or other animals to transfer pollen from one flower to the next. Flowers commonly have glands called nectaries on their...